I was thinking of what recipe to write for E , and trust me I did not remember a single curry/pachadi/pulusu .All I can remember was pickles like endu aavakaya,endu maagaya and endu kobbari podi.That’s all.

I never made endu aavakaya/maagaya (yes I ate them a lot), so I don’t have a choice of recipes for E except Endu kobbari Podi.

Ingredients:

Endukobabri ( Dry coconut) pieces: 1 cup

Dhaniyaalu (Coriander seeds) :1/2 cup

Senagapappu (Split chick peas): 1/2 cup

Minappappu (Black gram) 1/2 cup

Endu mirchi (Red chillies dried): 12

Hing: 1 pinch

Salt as per taste

Karivepaaku (curry leaves): 3 strings

Oil 1 tsp

Method:

Dry roast Dhaniyalu,Senagapappu and Minappappu ,take them in a wide plate and let them cool.

Slightly roast Kobabri also, let it cool along with pappulu in the same plate.

Roast in a tsp oil curry leaves and Red chillies.Put them in the plate along with Dhaniyalu and pappulu.

After they cool, grind them to a fine powder along with salt and hing.

Aavakaya is generic name which means mustard ( main ingredient) with unripe fruit . But for most Andhra people aavakaya is a pickle made with Mangoes which when prepared properly will last for years. Dosa aavakaya is made with yellow cucumber and will last only for few weeks. Also in India this vegetable is available almost all of the year.

Here is the recipe:

Dosakaya ( Yellow cucumber) : 1 big in size ( depending on the size, use more than one )

Salt : 2 table spoons

Red chilli powder: 2 table spoons

Mustard seed powder : 2 table spoons

(Slightly warm mustard seeds in a skillet ,cool and grind them to a fine powder)

Turmeric : a pinch

Oil : 2 ladle full /until the pickle is covered which ever is low .

Hing: 1 tsp

Red chilles(whole): 5

Mustard seeds: 1 tsp

Wash and dry cucumber.Remove the stem and cut in bite sized pieces( need not peel the skin).

Eat a price and make sure it is not bitter.Taste the seeds also.If the seeds are bitter then discard the seeds .

If both are bitter, bad luck buy another cucumber .

Mix in salt,chili powder ,mustard powder and 1 ladle full of oil( or until all of the pickle is coated with oil).

Keep it covered for 3 days.

On the third day , heat oil in a skillet ( how much is at your discretion but if pickles are not covered with oil floating on them , they tend to spoil quickly ,

I use less oil for dosa aavakai but will usually keep it in refrigerator) ,when hot addmustard seeds, and red chillies. When they splutter,

switch off the stove and add hing. Let it cool.

Pour it in the pickle and mix well.

Dosa aavakai is ready to eat. Enjoy with hot rice.

For a better taste while eating with rice, mix along few drops of gingelly oil .

Andhraites especially people from East and west Godavari dists , do not eat ghee with pickles ,instead they add few drops of oil with pickles,some chutney’s and some curries . Ghee is for daals and few curries.

In the place where I live I dont get fresh Bachali koora. When I go to NJ I get some.Otherwise I use frozen Bachali( forgot the english name for it will post it later).Chopped bachali 2 cups ( 2 blocks if using frozen)

Drain water from urad daal and grind into a smooth paste adding some salt and NO water at all .If needed sprinkle few drops of water.

Heat 1tsp of oil in a skillet when hot add popu ingradients. when musratd splutters, transfer the contents into curd( dilute curd a little if it is store bought ),add salt and mix with a spoon.keep it aside.

Head oil for deep frying, when hot, take some batter in hand make it like a ball, press it slightly to make it a little flat and make a dent in the middle .. so now it should be like doughnut.Slowly drop in hot oil and fry till done.Do NOT over fry .

Take it out from oil and drop it in curd .

Complete making vada like this with rest of the batter and drop them all in curd.Turn(mix) them carefully in the curd if needed.They should be immersed completely in the curd.Garnish with cilantro.
Cover and let them soak for an hour or two.